THE TEA PLANT. 17 
teas are the products of the same plant, treated in 
different ways. The green tea is made by commencing 
to dry the leaves in the ovens as soon as they are 
picked, the whole operation of drying, rolling, and 
roasting, being done very quickly ; while in the black 
tea the leaves, when picked, are laid in the sun until 
they become entirely soft and wilted, when they are 
shaken about in sieves held over hot steam; this de- 
prives them of the peculiar properties which belong 
to the green tea. When the leaves become quite 
flaccid and watery, they are put into large copper 
dishes and roasted for a few minutes over a hot fire, 
when they are taken out and rolled between the 
hands. In the finer sorts, each leaf is rolled sepa- 
rately ; after this, the process of drying and baking 
is commenced by alternately placing them over the 
fire, and then exposing them to the air for some 
hours. This is repeated five or six times, when the 
tea is fit for use. 
Tea leaves possess properties which will produce 
giddiness, headache, and even paralysis; these pro- 
. perties are much weakened in the process of drying ; 
and the longer this is in being completed, the more 
wholesome tea becomes. Both green and black teas 
act as powerful nervous stimulants upon a system 
which has not become accustomed to them; hence 
the benefit often derived from their use by persons 
in advanced life who have abstained from them when 
young. 
The tea plant was cultivated, and its leaves used, 
as early as the fourth century ; and, in the year 763, 
7 
